Don't Stop the Music
by bettercrazythanboring
Summary: AU in modern day New York - meaning without bending - twelve years into the future. Bolin goes dancing to let go of stress. Light Makorra.


My eyes were stained red from the lack of sleep. It seemed to be their permanent appearance now - whenever I looked in the mirror, all I saw staring back at me was a big tangled mess of hair, stubble (which ruined the beard I'd worked so hard to shape) and prominent blood vessels.

If I survived the next few months I'd be so shocked I'd die anyway.

Crawling into bed at four in the morning and being so tired I couldn't sleep was common these days and on one such occasion I wondered what had made me chase a master's degree, as I was often doing nowadays.

I mean, really, _why_ would I commit an act of that level of stupidity?

The bachelor's degree was useful, yes. But I must have been brainwashed to think this was a good idea, especially when I had a job as well _and_ was still on a scholarship to play football.

One of these days I fully expected my body to give out and what then?

Just when I was finally bored enough to fall unconscious, the newborn in the neighboring apartment wailed. I pulled the covers over my head and tried to ignore the cry like I used to when my brother and I had had to sleep on the streets as children and the sound traffic was present at all times of night, but it went on for too long and my patience was only so thick.

"_Mako!_" I shouted, banging on the wall, not caring that it was 5 AM. If the little boy was awake, me waking his parents should be considered public service.

"I'm up, Bo," said Korra in a loud, but weary voice through the wall, "You can stop breaking the building's underlying structure now."

I listened to the silence, grateful for it, and when Korra sang little Kaoru to sleep after feeding him, her surprisingly melodic voice lulled me to sleep too.

Something had to change; I couldn't go on like a zombie. People were giving me weird looks on the street, my grades, performance, everything was falling. I barely felt like me anymore. But I had to keep going. I'd worked too hard, _Mako_ had worked too hard to get me where I was and I couldn't let either of us down, especially not now that everything I'd ever wanted was within arm's reach (and I had a nephew to shower with gifts).

Yet I couldn't successfully juggle everything and no one could take my responsibilities from me. One day, though, my favorite professor Gommu who taught biology and had a fondness for bushes (oh, and who I'd known most of my life, by the way), called me aside after class.

"Bolin, this has gone on long enough."

"What?"

"You need your rest and strength back."

"Gommu, I'm... fine..." I said, my protest a little unconvincing as my eyes were slowly shutting and my speech sounded like a drunken slur.

"I am accepting no denials. I've spoken to your brother, your employer, professors and coach. You are not allowed on school grounds, or anywhere near work, for the next week."

"I don't need..."

"Save yourself the energy and just go home, Bo. This is a done deal. Now scram and don't show your face here till your brother allows you."

"Aye, aye, Gom," I waved, half-asleep and bumped into the door on the way out.

I spent the majority of the next three days in bed, waking only to get food and to go to the bathroom. Mako had confiscated all my books and cooked all my meals, taking care of me just like when we were little. This time, however, he had son to take care of as well, and spending all day at home with him while Korra was off saving the corporate world had to be hard enough without my troubles adding to it. But he never once called attention to it, though I saw exertion in his eyes too.

By the fourth day, clean, fed, slept and shaven, I was feeling well enough to offer my babysitting services so that he could rest, but he was having none of it. He also wouldn't let me leave my apartment, insisting that I needed solitude and peace. Too bad he didn't realize I needed something to do. Being cooped up was driving me nuts. So that night, after I was sure Mako and Korra had fallen asleep and wouldn't hear me use the keys (they were light sleepers since becoming parents), I sneaked out into the dark, fresh night.

Oh, how good it felt.

For a while I just roamed the streets, breathing deeply and admiring the pretty lights, but soon I felt unsatisfied by just walking. For the first time in months I felt full of energy and keeping it pent up inside was unbearable. I wanted to feel like _me_ - enthusiastic, animated, prone to rambling, fun and, if I did say so myself, with a talent for the physical. I hadn't felt that way since... I'd started studying again and, sadly, walking wasn't cutting it.

Following a sudden impulse, I headed towards a jazz club where I knew I could let that energy out to music I actually liked without a crowd of people grinding against each other. More pleased with my idea by the minute and wishing I'd thought of it sooner, for example, before three in the morning on a weekday, I quickened my pace and felt a lifting in my heart that I hadn't experienced in a long time when I saw the big ornate doors that had been there since the twenties.

It was a different world in there. Calm and yet full of passion, dark but with an innate sense of light. There was no band at this time of night, but the speakers were playing one of my favorite songs, just quiet enough to not be obnoxious yet give listeners an eargasm, and there were still a few people on the dance floor. More cheerful already, I stepped down on the wooden panels to join them.

That's when I saw her.

Dressed in a sparkly, sunny dress made of some light material that flowed around her like a fog when she turned, eyes closed, with long, dark hair framing the face of an angel and changing position with every movement, the woman twirled and twisted in moves I'd never seen in the corner of the room, out of sight for unwelcome eyes, but utterly captivating for anyone who noticed.

She danced like a goddess, gliding smoothly from one wooden tile to another like it was the most effortless thing in the world. The ornate orange fingerless gloves emphasized every tiny movement her hands made and I could not help but feel a breeze rush by me every time she directed them towards me.

She was the embodiment of air and I could not look away.

I needed to know her.

As if in a trance, I made my way past the few others on the floor and neared her, disregarding every piece of etiquette Mako had taught me. The pull was too much to think about, nothing to be unsure of. I stopped three feet from her and started moving to the music as well, those dance classes Korra made me take for their wedding finally paying off.

She opened her pale brown eyes, sensing my presence, and looked at me closely from top to bottom. Apparently deeming me good enough to be a partner, she started making her air patterns around me, a small smile spreading over her lips and head falling slightly back. Trusting my instincts, I gently took her hand and pulled her closer to me.

She responded with hip movements I hadn't known existed and we began a wonderful play of limbs, energy coursing between us as we pushed and pulled, never quite touching, staring at each other. It was unlike anything I'd ever experienced - the air felt heavy, tiny sparks seemed to shock every inch of my body, and everything turned brown and orange, colors I'd never particularly liked before because fallen leaves were everywhere the day my parents died. But this time I didn't mind; they were utterly perfect.

I lost track of time as we danced through the night. I couldn't tell you how long we were dancing when I wrapped her arms around her waist if I had a gun to my head. I couldn't tell you how many songs had been played when she rested her head on my shoulder. All I knew was I truly felt at peace in her arms, not tired in the least, and I never wanted the moment to end.

Eventually, though, we moved slower and slower until we were standing still, arms wrapped around each other, eyes closed, listening to each other's heartbeats that matched the rhythm of music impossibly. Looking away from her for the first time in what felt like a lifetime, I saw that we were the only people left in the room, not even the staff to keep us company. The playlist was set and did not need maintenance whereas drinks were sold in a separate room, which seemed to be locked.

I wondered how long we'd been alone.

She lifted her head, and looked around as if just woken from a dream. Upon coming to the same conclusion I had, she looked at me, smiling again and lightly pressed her lips against mine.

My heart could have provided the soundtrack for an entire STOMP concert at that moment.

...

...

...

...

...

...

Finally, she pulled away, blushing a little.

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice just as beautiful as she herself, "for tonight. I really needed this."

And she walked away.

"Wait!" I called, stopping her, "Look, I don't want to bother you if you're absolutely not interested, but this... this has been the best night of my life," I admitted, eyes wide from the fear of losing something I never expected to have, of walking out here and losing the reality that this moment, this feeling, _she_ happened, "Can't I at least get your name?"

"Jinora."

Gosh, even her name was perfect. The girl I'd once known with the same name had been the one pushing me towards college in the first place.

I smiled.

"I'm Bolin. Would it possibly be okay if I took you out dancing ag- wait, _Jinora?" _I asked, incredulous, because the same small spark of recognition I felt at the mention of her name was on her face at the mention of mine.

It was impossible... wasn't it? The same little girl I'd known what must have been over a decade ago, standing before me looking like... like _that_ and moving like _that_ and staring at me with those deep, beautiful, brown...

It _was_ her. I could see my little Jinora, who taught me to read when no one else bothered, in her extremely alert eyes. I could see my little Jinora, who challenged my street fighting with her martial arts training and _won_, in the way she held her back. I could see my little Jinora, agonized when her younger brother Meelo accidentally cut her already short hair even shorter, in the mountain of thick waist-length hair she had now.

I was amazed... and quite possibly in love.

"Bolin... how long has it been?" she asked, scrutinizing me with a sort of wondering look.

"Ten years, I think. Maybe a little more?"

"I have to admit, I didn't recognize you with the beard." She laughed.

"Yeah, it's a recent development," I said, stroking it self-consciously.

"It suits you."

"Er... thanks. So, uh.. did you ever achieve your dream of becoming a dancer in that... troupe? Oh, what am I saying, you wouldn't be here if you didn't," I corrected myself, remembering her moves, "How's, er, life... otherwise?"

"Actually, I haven't passed my final exam yet," she said with a little laugh, "And I kind of started disliking it. I've been so focused on the details, the formulas, the science of dancing that I forgot what it means to _dance._ I came here to clear my head after running out of the exam room," she muttered, waving at her sparkly dress.

"Your- wait, you missed your exam?"

"It's okay." She shrugged. "I can retake it in a few days. And I'll do better now." She smiled. "What about you, Bo? Why were you dancing in the middle of the night?"

"Just too much on my plate. Needed to have a little... fun," I winced, feeling that 'fun' was the least appropriate word for tonight in the English language.

"Oh. How's Korra and the baby? I haven't talked to her in far too long."

"She's good. Stressed and worried and overworked, of course, but that's Korra for you," I said, "What about your family? Meelo still wreaking havoc?"

"Uh... depends. His life is chaotic, much like his art, but he's happy that way. And Ikki just got her first job on the radio," she added.

"Awesome."

"Yeah."

"Right."

Awkward silence.

"Bolin... did you mean what you said, earlier?" she asked, looking at me intently through her eyelashes.

"I did. Do," I clarified, jumping at the possibility that maybe this wasn't over yet.

She smiled and turned towards the open doors where the reflection of a sunrise in the glass exteriors of the surrounding skyscrapers made the whole city sunny and orange, just like her.

"In that case, I would love to go dancing with you again."


End file.
